12 July 2012

The Central Point in the History of the World

Anglo-Catholic Bible scholar of two generation ago, A. G. Hebert:

The Old Testament is confessedly incomplete, since it looks forward to a future Event; we shall define the object of the Messianic Hope as the completion of the Purpose which God took in hand when He called Israel to be His People.

And the New Testament, in its turn, is unintelligible without the Old, which it presupposes everywhere as its background.

And if we believe that the Lord God, to whom the universe belongs, was indeed revealing Himself to man and redeeming him, it follows that the preparatory action of the Old Testament is just as much His action as is the Fulfillment in Jesus the Messiah; and further, that this Fulfillment must bear the marks of finality. This thought of finality receives a notable expression in a verse in the Epistle to the Hebrews, which may be freely translated: 'As it is, once for all, at the central point in the history of the world the Messiah has appeared, to put an end to the power of sin by the sacrifice of Himself' (Heb. ix.26)--'at the central point of history'--literally, 'at the consummation or summing up of the ages', at the point where the meaning of the whole is gathered up, totum simul, all in one instant.

It happened at Jerusalem, at the passover festival of one of the years when Pontius Pilate was procurator of Judea.

No comments:

The Gospel. Period.

Follow by Email

A human being. Living with my dear wife and five delightful offspring in Wheaton, Illinois. Senior VP for Bible Publishing at Crossway. More messed up than this blog will let on. I live (2 Cor 5:15) to delight in (Ps 37:4) and display (1 Tim 1:16) the glory (Rom 15:8-9) of the grace (Eph 1:6) of God in Christ (Col 1:15). Saddle up.

My Portion

"The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him." The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. Let him sit alone in silence when it is laid on him; let him put his mouth in the dust--there may yet be hope; let him give his cheek to the one who strikes, and let him be filled with insults. For the LORD will not cast off forever, but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love; for he does not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men.--Lamentations 3:24-32

Leaving Comments

Comments are welcome.

I read every comment, though I do not respond to every one.

Blog commenting is one more avenue in which we can live out gospel-ignited love toward one another. A blog is not a place where we can take a vacation from Christian love; it is a prime opportunity to exercise it. Comment clearly, thoughtfully, briefly, humbly.

Obnoxious comments will be deleted. This is my blog, so I determine what crosses the line into being obnoxious. I welcome discussion and even debate, but I will not allow this blog to become a platform for the 'word-wars' against which the New Testament repeatedly warns us.